Things that drift in and out of my life

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Election Day

So it’s finally here, thank God. I know I’m not alone in feeling like this political cycle couldn’t end fast enough. I’ve seen friends on Facebook beg for people to stop with their political posts, and even seen a few log off until after the election. It hasn’t been pretty folks.

For me it also wasn’t always like this. In my family we looked forward to election day, held parties, and celebrated our ability to pick our political candidates freely. We had Republicans mostly and Democrats (usually just my uncles), but we never had heated arguments, just watched the results roll in. Sometimes our candidate won, sometimes they lost and the world seemed to keep revolving, life never ended.

I’m not sure when this stopped, but it happened in both my family and in the rest of the country. People started to lose their shit when it came to politics. Maybe it was that crazy 2000 Bush/Gore cycle, maybe that’s when people started to come unhinged when it came to political discourse. I know that the televised news channels have only added to it with their 24/7 coverage of every single misstep and slight positive edge. I also am insulted that more and more celebrity is being thrust into the political realm. People like Katy Perry and Lindsay Lohan’s views on candidates are now news. Why? The line has further blurred between news and entertainment with John Stewart being interviewed as if he were a political insider. Have we really compromised our own intelligence that much that a comedy show is now replacing factual news? And why does it seem one political party gets to hog all the spaces at the cool kids table? An election should be decided on who’s views and platform you feel is best for the country not who you think is cool or hip.

I’ve seen some pretty terrible things online especially in the past 6 months regarding this election from both sides. Lies, fear mongering, and distasteful humor posed as a political stance. The freedom and instant gratification that the internet has brought to politics has not brought out the best in people and it makes me sad.

I’m staying away from news until later and will watch the results with a glass of wine and my pup. Someone will win and their supporters will be thrilled, someone will lose and their supporters will be devastated. It will hopefully be over and the country will only change incrementally. Our leaders regardless of the party are mainly variations of a theme. We have enough checks and balances that little changes dramatically anymore.

So in an hour I’m heading to the polls to vote for the person I think will harm our country the least.